Update: Sparks schools to receive grant money

Expect a lot more science in Sparks.On Thursday the Washoe County School District received $9,711,497 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve math and science instruction.The almost $10 million will go to improve the science and math program at nine schools including Sparks High School, Sparks Middle School and Drake, Greenbrae, Lincoln Park, Maxwell, Mitchell, Risley and Smith Elementary Schools.The money will go to professional development and training for teachers according to Kristen McNeill, chief of staff of the Washoe County School District. She also said the grant means the district will partner closely with the University of Nevada, Reno and its College of Education and Engineering.“It means professors will go into the schools with our teachers,” McNeill said.The grant also has an evaluation component.“Teacher evaluations are kind of the buzz now, but our teacher association signed on to this (grant) and that’s a big component,” she said.The district is piloting another performance-based teacher and principal compensation system through another federal grant.This grant money will be distributed over two years and has the possibility of being reauthorized for an additional $25 million if approved by Congress, according to McNeill.She said Sparks High School was a good fit for this grant because of the school’s focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics with its Signature Academy, the Microsoft IT Academy. Nine high schools in the district have Signature Academies that provide a focused curriculum ranging from performing arts at Damonte Ranch High School to a Health Science Academy at Hug High School.The other schools chosen to be part of this grant feed into Sparks High.McNeil said the district applies for more than 200 grants a year. This grant was labor intensive with at least 10 people in the district working on it.McNeill heard about receiving the grant this morning while in a meeting with district superintendent Pedro Martinez.“I screamed when I saw the text,” she said. “This is huge for us.”